Judas Iscariot, the disciple, hanged himself on a tree after betraying Jesus Christ and giving him a kiss. The tree in which Judas hanged himself is known as the "Judas Tree" and is found mainly in southern Europe and western Asia. In the story “Flowering Judas” written by Katherine Anne Porter the title is linked to this religious event of betrayal, murder and denial. “‘Judah in Bloom’ is perhaps his most extraordinary story of tension, sustained, threatened, and restored” (Gottfried 134). The two main characters in this story are Braggioni and Laura. Braggoni is a cruel and powerful leader of Marxist revolutionaries in and around Mexico City. Laura a beautiful American woman, 22 years old, who settled in Mexico. The best-known theme in Porter's short story “Flowering Judas” is betrayal. Laura, Braggioni, Braggioni's wife and Eugenio are all guilty of treason. First, Laura betrays the students she teaches. The students at her school love her and are excited to learn from her teaching. “The children [write] on the blackboard: 'We lov ar ticher'” (Porter 1695). But Laura doesn't put all her effort and passion into her teaching. As Sister Mary Bride stated: “Although she was a teacher, she had no love for the children who crowded around her every morning with fervent greetings and adorned her desk with flowers. They 'remain strangers to her'” (129). A teacher should love his children, be part of them and focus on them. With her lack of enthusiasm and commitment to completing her teaching tasks, she is underestimating herself and failing her students. By continuing, Laura betrays the love in her life, rejecting all men who intend to reach her heart. “B...... middle of paper......y Porter presents us with a related event in a dream Laura has with Eugene. Eugene says to Laura in the dream “Then eat these flowers, poor prisoner,” and from a Judas tree he plucked the hot, bleeding flowers, and held them to her lips (Porter 1700). Here Porter mentions Judas referring to the disciple who betrayed Jesus. Laura by accepting and eating the bloody leave of Eugene, torn from the Judas tree, accepts the contribution to his murder. Just as Christians accept Jesus on Sunday through Holy Communion. Then Eugenio says to Laura “Murder and cannibal”, and Laura wakes up scared and terrified, and can no longer sleep (Porter 1700). Laura betrayed Eugenio by participating in his murder. As stated by Ray B. West Jr., “She is, like Judas, the traitor; and her betrayal, like his, consisted in the inability to believe” (126).